Media with questions about this Marine can
call the 2nd Marine Division Public Affairs Office at (910) 451-9033.

8 Jun 2006:

A Marine from the East Coast’s largest Marine
base was killed in combat in Iraq this week, the Pentagon said Thursday.
Sergeant Mark T. Smykowski, 23, of Mentor, Ohio, died Tuesday in Iraq’s
restive Anbar province. He was assigned to 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion,
2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune. He
specialized in reconnaissance work, said Second Lieutenant Shawn Mercer.

Smykowski joined the Marines in August 2000
and his unit in November 2002. His awards include the Navy Marine Corps
Achievement Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, Good Conduct Medal, and the Iraqi
Campaign Medal, Mercer said.

9 June 2006:Member of 'Mentor Seven' dies in Iraq

The bond shared by a group of Mentor High School
graduates who played high school hockey together, then enlisted in the
U.S. Marine Corps together, was much deeper than simple friendship.

It was brotherhood, said Brian Halan.

This week, the group that has come to be known
as the Mentor Seven lost a brother.

Halan returned to Mentor High Thursday along
with Matthew Neath and their hockey coach, Jack Smeltz, to remember the
fallen Marine. Halan and Neath recently finished their active duty as U.S.
Marine sergeants.

Smykowski's family members were not immediately
available for comment on Thursday.

Halan, Smykowski and Neath went to Parris Island,
South Carolina, for boot camp after they graduated in 2000.

Smykowski's brother, Darren; Neath's brother,
Nathan; and Joseph Lorek and Nicholas Psenicnik went into the Marines in
July 2002.

Smykowski chose to become a reconnaissance
man, one of the most difficult jobs in the military service.

"If there is anything I'm grieving about, it's
what I'm going to miss in the future," Ross said.

"The opportunity to see him with his own children,
his wedding; things a mother fantasizes about what her son would get to
do - that's what we grieve about."

Smykowski will be laid to rest June 20,2006,
at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia because "it was something we
felt he would want," said Ken Ross, Smykowski's stepfather.

"We're all very proud of him," Ken Ross said.

One of the positive memories Diana Ross will
have when she thinks of her son is the accomplishment of a goal he had
recently told her about: He wanted to save another person's life.

"Just recently, he volunteered for special
training in case there was a casualty or somebody got hurt," she said.
"I said, 'Yeah, I could picture that. Maybe you should do that when you
get out of the Marine Corps.' One of the grieving days I had, I thought
of my son and that he'd never get to experience one of the things he wanted
to do."

But Friday, the Rosses learned that Smykowski
had indeed saved the life of a fellow Marine in Iraq.

"He was able to use that class he took," Diana
said.

She will also remember the way her son related
so well to all people, including some of the children in Iraq."He was all excited, and he told me some of
the Iraqis had remembered him," she said. "He said, 'Mom, that made me
feel so good.' He loved being with kids."

The family has created the Sergeant Mark T.
Smykowski Memorial Fund, to which contributions can be made at any area
National City Bank.

While the specific purpose of the fund has
not been finalized, Diana said children in situations such as those her
son
helped are the most likely beneficiary.

And despite the feelings of loss and pain the
family is now going through, Diana said they stand firmly behind the soldiers
and their mission in Iraq.

"The things we're doing there, we just have
to have patience," she said. "We have to undo what terrible people have
done to them. The Iraqis are good people, and we just have to build their
trust in us. We are going to be there with these young kids. It isn't going
to be a short mission. It's going to take a lot of patience.

Memorial for slain Marine held in mother’s
front yardWednesday, June 14, 2006

EUCLID, Ohio - A service for a Marine killed
in Iraq last week was held in his mother’s front yard, where about 60 friends
and neighbors gathered to honor Sergeant Mark Smykowski.

His brothers, fellow Marines Darren and Kenny
Smykowski, saluted as an American flag was raised and then lowered to half-staff
during the memorial Tuesday in this Cleveland suburb.

Their 23-year-old brother was killed June 6,
2006, when a roadside bomb struck his armored Humvee. He will be buried
at Arlington National Cemetery.

“This is the saddest day in my life but also
the proudest,” Smykowski’s mother, Diana Ross, told the crowd gathered
on her lawn. “My son’s death was not in vain. No Marines’ deaths are in
vain.”

Some came to pay their respects even though
they did not know Smykowski, who was assigned to 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion,
2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, based in Camp Lejeune,
North Carolina.

“Once a Marine, always a Marine,” said Frank
Montana, 85, a World War II veteran.

Smykowski joined the Marines with a group of
six friends from his high school in Mentor, including his brother Darren.
Kenny Smykowski followed them into the military last summer.

Procession brings Mentor Marine to Willoughby
Hills for funeral 16 June 2006Courtesy of the News Herald

As he waited Thursday for the procession carrying
the casket of U.S. Marine Sergeant Mark T. Smykowski, Pastor Tim Davis
reflected on Smykowski's commitment to his country.

"He's a gentleman who loved his country and
really believed in what he did," said Davis, one of the leaders of Willoughby
Hills Evangelical Friends Church, 2846 SOM Center Road.

Shortly after Thursday's morning turned to
afternoon under a bright blue sky, the blinking lights atop several police
cruisers became visible, and the motorcade arrived at the church following
its 45-minute journey from Middleburg Heights.

Police and safety forces from across Northeast
Ohio took part in the procession, which was greeted by American flags posted
along Route 91.

Smykowski, 23, of Mentor, was killed in combat
June 6 in Iraq. The 2000 graduate of Mentor High School was part of the
"Mentor Seven," a group of Mentor graduates who joined the Marines together
over a two-year period.As a reconnaissance man, Smykowski worked
one of the most challenging jobs in military service.

Willoughby Hills police were expecting heavy
traffic in and out of the church Thursday and today as friends, family,
fellow military personnel and others pay their respects to Smykowski.

The casket was to return Thursday night to
A. Ripepi and Sons Funeral Home in Middleburg Heights before being brought
back today to Willoughby Hills.

Visiting hours today are scheduled for 3 to
6 p.m., and the funeral service is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Rudy Baitt of Eastlake and Charlie Bauer of
Mayfield Village each spent time in the U.S. Marine Corps, and both are
currently active in the Lake County Marine Corps League.

They met Smykowski through that group last
summer.

"They were gung-ho kids," Bauer said of Smykowski
and his fellow reconnaissance soldiers. "But they were down to earth and
very dedicated."

Debbie Michaels of Cleveland was moved to witness
Thursday's proceedings in part to ensure Smykowski was given the same respect
that her father, who served 40 years in the U.S. Navy, received.

"I feel they all deserve the same respect and
honor," Michaels said.

Others at the church chose to view the procession's
arrival in silent remembrance, each with a small American flag waving in
their hand.

Davis spoke about the bond between Smykowski
and the other members of the Mentor Seven.

"They were not just in it to get their education
paid for," Davis said.

"He served his time. ... I hope people understand
what it takes to have freedom in this country."

Smykowski's final resting place will be Arlington
National Cemetery in Virginia. The casket will leave the funeral home Monday
morning and be flown to Arlington for full military burial honors, scheduled
for 9 a.m. Tuesday. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to
the Sgt. Mark T. Smykowski Memorial Fund at any area National City Bank.
Saturday, June 17, 2006Jennifer PriceCourtesy of the Cleveland Plain Dealer

As mourners waited to pay their respects to
Marine Sergeant Mark Smykowski's family, they looked at pictures that represented
Smykowski: family, hockey, friends and the Marine Corps.

"He believed in what he was doing. He loved
the Iraqi children and they loved him," Laura Karley, Smykowski's aunt,
said as she re ferred to several pic tures showing her nephew, who was
killed June 6 in Iraq, sitting with Iraqi chil dren.

More than 1,000 family members, friends, Marines,
and even a few strangers gathered in Willoughby Hills Friends Church Friday
evening to honor the sacrifice and the memory of a fallen Marine.

"He was just 23," said Chloe Soltis, his 6-year-old
cousin. "It's not fair."

Smykowski, who was assigned to the 2nd Reconnaissance
Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, was killed by a roadside bomb outside Fallujah.

"You became a better man than I could have
prayed you'd ever be," said his mother, Diana Ross, in a poem she prepared
for the service. "Fighting for what you believed in -- such a strong and
brave Marine."

Lieutenant Colonel Michael Brown, who awarded
Smykowski a Purple Heart, presented the medal to brothers Darren and Kenny
Smykowski, who are also both Marines.

"I just want him to know that what he did over
there wasn't in vain," Bert Smykowski, his father, said Wednesday.

After the service, mourners lined the driveway
leading out of the church where two firetruck cranes held up an American
flag. Cleveland Police Department, the Marine Corps Rolling Thunder, and
police motorcycles from several departments across Northeast Ohio followed
behind the hearse that carried Smykowski's flag-draped casket.

But inside the hearse, Smykowski was not alone.

Sergeant Nathaniel Cook, who served in Smykowski's
unit in Iraq, escorted his friend home from Iraq and made it his vow to
stay by his side until Smykowski got to Arlington National Cemetery.

Others have made that same vow.

The remaining members of the "Mentor Seven,"
who skated on the high school hockey team and entered the Marine Corps
together with Smykowski, saluted their friend as the hearse began the procession.
They will also travel to Arlington.

Smykowski will be buried at Arlington National
Cemetery on Tuesday at 9 a.m.
Marine Was 'Mr. Ski' to Iraqi KidsSergeant Inspired Brothers, Friends to Join
the MilitaryBy Brigid SchulteCourtesy of the Washington PostWednesday, June 21, 2006

Diana Ross was angry when her son signed up
for a second tour of duty with the Marines in Iraq. He was a trained sniper
and paratrooper and served in a reconnaissance battalion, on the front
lines every day searching for insurgents. As a Christian, she worried about
the killing. As a mother, she feared for his life. "I need to know," she
demanded when she called him on the phone, "exactly what is the plan over
there?"

Sergeant Mark T. Smykowski hushed his buddies
on his end of the line. "This mission is going to take us years, Mom,"
she recalls him answering quietly. "These people have been brutalized for
years. We have to work with the children. We have to get the kids to trust
us."

It was a life-changing moment, she said. "It
was the first time I spoke to him as a man."

It would also be one of the last.

Smykowski, a member of the 2nd Reconnaissance
Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, was killed
June 6, 2006, in Anbar province when a roadside bomb struck his armored
Humvee, military officials said. He was 23.

Yesterday, amid a rifle volley and taps and
surrounded by friends and family who had rented a bus to come from Ohio,
Smykowski was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Two American flags
were presented to Ross and to Mark's father, her ex-husband, Herbert Smykowski.
The father hugged the flag to his chest and hung his head.

Growing up, Smykowski was a good-looking guy,
his mother said, and he knew it. "He was full of himself," she chuckled.
One day in his senior year in high school, at a college and career fair
in Mentor, Ohio, Ross watched the erect bearing of two Marine recruiters.
"Couldn't you just picture Mark in that uniform," she joked to her husband.
By the time they got to the table, he'd signed up.

After boot camp, he got endless ribbing from
his younger brothers when he was chosen to be a model for the Marines.
Soon, he was off to special training courses and classified combat missions.
He and a friend inspired their younger brothers and friends to join the
military. They became known as the "Mentor Seven." All but one came to
the funeral yesterday.

In Iraq, the children called him "Mr. Ski."
He became an ambassador of sorts to the locals. "His unit would laugh that
Mark's name would be on the ballot during the local elections," Ross said.
Recently, he had been distributing toys and clothes to Iraqi children,
she said.

"He was loving and easygoing," Ross said. "I
have all these pictures with his arms around Iraqis. There was one where
he had 25 kids all around him."

Ross spoke with her son for the last time nine
days before he died. He was telling her how bad things had gotten. "Mark,"
she remembered asking him, "are you scared?"

"Uh, yeah," he said sarcastically. She tried
to bolster his confidence. Then she asked, "Mark, are you okay with God?"

"Mom, you don't have to worry," he said. "I'm
good to go with God."

At his funeral in Ohio, at Ross's Willoughby
Hills Evangelical Friends Church, the pastor spoke of Gideon, the biblical
warrior who, because he trusted God, conquered 120,000 Midianites with
300 men. The congregation read Psalm 23, about dwelling in the house of
the Lord forever.

Afterward, young men approached Ross, soldiers
she knew had seen dark and troubling things. They asked whether they could
do anything for her. "Yes," she said. "Live like there's no tomorrow. Make
your mother proud. So if something happened tomorrow, you'll have no regrets."

That's how her son had lived.

Hubert
Smykowski, left, the father of Marine Sergeant Mark Smykowski, fights back
tears as 'Taps' is played
for his son at Arlington National Cemetery on Tuesday, June 20, 2006

The
casket of Marine Sergeant Mark Smykowski is carried to its final resting
place at Arlington National Cemetery
on Tuesday, June 20, 2006

A
member of the Marine Honor Guard holds a flag for Marine Sergeant Mark
Smykowski at Arlington
National Cemetery on Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Hubert
Smykowski, the father of Sergeant Mark Smykowski, recieves the flag from
his son's casket from
Marine Master Sgt. Barry Baker, left, at Arlington National Cemetery on
Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Marine
Master Sgt. Barry Baker, left, salutes, Hubert Smykowski, the father of
Marine Sergeant Mark
Smykowski, after delivering the flag off his casket at Arlington National
Cemetery on Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Bert
and Georgine Smykowski, from Cleveland, Ohio, embrace during thefuneral
services for Corporal Joseph John Anzack, Jr. of Torrance, California,Wednesday,
June 6, 2007, at Arlington National Cemetery. The Smykowski's where visiting the
grave of their son, Marine Sergeant Mark T. Smykowski on the one-year anniversary
of his death at the same time Anzack's funeral was nearby. Anzack was one of
three soldiers were missing, whose the body was found in the Euphrates
River in late
May. Smykowski was killed in Iraq when a roadside bomb detonated near his
vehicle